HISP-S 628 Topics in Early Modern Spanish Literature (3 credits)
Topic: Early Modern Spanish Drama
Fall 2010 #28232 11:15A-12:30P TR BH 137
Professor Catherine Larson
This course offers an in-depth examination of the ways in which
power (religious, political, gender) was negotiated in early modern
Spanish drama. We will begin the course with an exploration of the
physical stage and issues related to the performance of classical
theatrical texts, and we will analyze the impact of Lope de Vega’s
ARTE NUEVO DE HACER COMEDIAS on the theater of the day. The
canonical critical studies on the COMEDIA will be supplemented with
an examination of metatheater, an investigation of the works of
several key women writers of the Golden Age, and contemporary
theories of the theater, with specific emphasis on performance and
performance theory, including the study of 20th- and 21st–century
adaptations of early modern Spanish drama for the contemporary stage.
Texts will include:
Encina, LAS ACEITUNAS or LA TIERRA DE JAUJA
Cervantes, EL RETABLO DE LAS MARAVILLAS or EL ESTUDIANTE DE SALAMANCA
Lope de Vega, ARTE NUEVO DE HACER COMEDIAS, PERIBANEZ Y EL
COMENDADOR DE OCANA, LA DAMA BOBA
Ruiz de Alarcón, LA VERDAD SOSPECHOSA
Tirso de Molina, EL BURLADOR DE SEVILLA
María de Zayas, LA TRAICION EN LA AMISTAD
Ana Caro, VALOR, AGRAVIO Y MUJER
Calderón de la Barca, LA DAMA DUENDE, LA VIDA ES SUENO, EL MEDICO DE
SU HONRA, EL GRAN TEATRO DEL MUNDO
Expectations for students include the production of one short and
one longer paper, an oral presentation, and active class
participation (including amateur “performances”).